Murals are a common and influential art form with a long and varied history.
Since human beings first painted ritualistic images on cave walls, murals have been an important way of expressing cultural values through art. Although murals vary in size, form and purpose, they continue to play an important role in both the art world and everyday life.
Definition
A mural is a large-scale work of art applied to a wall, ceiling or similar architectural element. Although murals are traditionally paintings, they can also be mosaics, photographs or other images printed on paper and applied to an architectural surface. Unlike most paintings or photographs, murals cannot stand alone, but rather serve to enhance the space in which they exist and further its purpose.
History
Michelangelo's influential Sistine Chapel murals continue to draw crowds of amazed tourists.
The mural is arguably the oldest art form, dating back to the Neolithic cave paintings preserved in Lascaux and Altamira. During the Roman Empire, murals were a display of affluence, as can be seen in the lavishly decorated homes of the wealthy citizens in Pompeii. The mural reached the height of its popularity during the Italian Renaissance, when works of art like Michelangelo's Creation of Man and Last Judgment and Raphael's School of Athens, all in the Vatican, celebrated both church might and classical values. During the 20th century, murals played an important political role, particularly in the Latin American socialist movements, and were used in order to create jobs for unemployed artists during the Great Depression. In 2011, murals are most often found in public or community settings, usually as a publicly commissioned work of art, but also in more anti-authoritarian large-scale graffiti compositions.
Techniques and Materials
The earliest murals were frescoes, which is a technique involving the mixture of plaster with pigment in order to create a more permanent work. Frescoes remained the most popular medium for murals throughout the 17th century, but innovations in painting techniques eventually replaced frescoes with oil paintings on canvas. Wallpaper murals were popular in the 18th and 19th century drawing rooms of the upper classes. Artists in 2011 use a wide variety of materials to create murals, including acrylic paints, digital images, decals and spray paint.
Purposes of Murals
There are as many purposes of murals as there are buildings upon which they are painted. Like the Neolithic cave paintings, the Sistine Chapel frescoes and Tibetan mandalas, murals can serve a spiritual purpose. The murals found in 18th and 19th century drawing rooms were purely aesthetic, while contemporary murals found on the sides of schools, hospitals or in parks aim to reflect community values, promote civic values and social cohesion or celebrate the history of the community.
Famous Murals
Murals found in the Vatican, like Raphael's School of Athens, are among the most famous in the world.
Many of the most famous murals have become household names, ranking among some of the most reproduced and celebrated works of visual art. These include Michelangelo's murals in the Sistine Chapel, Raphael's School of Athens, Picasso's Guernica and Diego Rivera's Man at the Crossroads. However, because they are such prevalent works of art, it is likely that you will find interesting murals by taking a quick stroll around your community center.
